Ownership: Privately owned by Brion Wise.
Winemaker: The head winemaker is Massimo Monticelli.
Location: They have two tasting locations: a tasting room in Kenwood, CA and their estate cave and vineyards on Moon Mountain in Sonoma.
Types of Wines: They are most known for their cabernet sauvignon and their Trios blend which were their first wines. Beginning three years ago they started producing pinot noirs and now have a number of different bottlings from specific vineyards.
Wine Price Range: $32 to $125
Production Size/Distribution: Their overall production size is about 5 to 6 thousand cases annually. This also includes about 1000 cases of their higher-end brand, Brion. They mainly sell direct to consumer through their club and tasting rooms.
Tasting Experience Options: At their Kenwood, CA tasting room, they are open 10:30 to 4:30 PM every day and walk-in tasters are welcome. They encourage people to make appointments, especially if it is a group of 6 or more. They offer three tasting flights:
- Wise Tasting Flight: $15 per person. Includes three wines.
- Pinot Noir Flight: $20 per person. Includes three pinot noir wines.
- Cabernet Sauvignon Flight: $25 per person. Includes three cabernet wines.
At their estate location, they offer tastings by appointment only. They include a tour to see their vineyards and cave. This experience is $65 per person. These tastings are for the more serious wine buyer.
Tasting Experience Rating: We tasted at both their tasting room and their estate. We give the tasting room 92 points and the estate 98 points.
Wine Rating: 92 to 96 points.
The Good: The wines are really lovely, so whether you are a serious buyer wanting to do a tasting at their estate or you want to stop in at their Kenwood tasting room, you won’t be disappointed. The staff is very knowledgeable, particularly the staff that does the estate tour tastings. We consider a knowledgeable staff to be one of the most important parts of a tasting experience. Kurt did our tasting at their cave and he was terrific from start to finish. He was able to share a lot of details about the property and the wines, as well as wine and the industry in general. Having tasted at B Wise many times, we also know that the rest of their staff, both at the estate and the tasting room (Anne, Sunshine, Josh, Chris and others), are always friendly and really seem to enjoy sharing the wines with guests.
The tasting room is stylish and perfect for people looking to relax in a friendly environment and taste very good wines. It is also located next to several other tasting rooms within walking distance.
B Wise Vineyards and winery also has a fun story. Brion Wise grew up on a farm where he learned to grow fruit. He knew he wanted to make wine some day, even back then, but he was encouraged to go on to college. He became an engineer. He had a successful career as an entrepreneur in the energy industry. During his career life, he traveled the world and soaked up everything he could about the wine and grape growing. When he was ready, he purchased his estate in Sonoma. He is devoted to continuing to expand his knowledge of wine and learn from the finest wine growing regions in the world.
The experience at the estate is superb. The property is beautiful and guests are taken to a spot at the top of their vineyards while they learn about the grapes they offer and their growing philosophy. The views of Sonoma below are incredible. Next, guests are taken into their wine cave to learn more about their thoughts on winemaking. Finally, guests are seated for their tasting in a suite at the end of the cave that feels like a wonderfully eclectic living room.
The Bad: There really wasn’t anything bad about our experiences with B Wise. The only point to mention would be that their flights in the tasting room box the guest into tasting only pinot or only cab if they only want to do one flight. Their entry priced flight includes different wines but we always love to go to wineries that let you customize a flight for yourself.
For individuals looking to spend time chatting with friends while casually drinking wine, this probably isn’t the right tasting room for you because their wines are of the quality that guests really should be considering the wines and understanding intentions behind their wines so they can make informed wine purchases.
*Ratings are on a 100 point scale.
90 to 100 points=Outstanding
80 to 89 points=Good
70 to 79 points=OK (not good but not bad)
60 to 69 points=Wish we had gone elsewhere.
Below 60 points=Run fast in the other direction.